Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · 2d
Diba @DibaB_
@UweStenderPhD Is there a 'maybe' pile for some queries you get, and what do you find usually determines your decision to go ahead and pursue it?No. I either reject the query or request the full. For me, it's like music, I either listen to the whole song or skip to the next one. Totally subjective.
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · 2d
Adrianne Karasek @AdrianneKar
@UweStenderPhD How helpful/useful do R&Rs tend to be? I've heard very different rates of success.Of course there are different rates of success as some people do them very well, and others don't. Case by case, ability by ability.
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · 2d
Adrianne Karasek @AdrianneKar
@UweStenderPhD If a writer has queried an agent a couple of times with mss that she really liked but didn't love enough to offer rep, is that a sign the writer should try again with a new ms or understand that 2 misses make it unlikely for the agent and writer to "click" enough to offer rep?EVERY rejection is for THAT PARTICULAR book ONLY. You can query me with a hundred different books. Maybe I will say YES to book 101.
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · 2d
Thereza Dos Santos @TherezaDSWrites
@UweStenderPhD @whitney_DG Is that common to query different agents for different genres? I have wondered that as a YA and PB writer. Thx.I don't know how common that is. Our agency represents everything, so that has NEVER come up. BUT, I have signed nonfiction clients in the past when THEIR agencies did not represent nonfiction (WITH their agencies' approval and verification!)
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · 2d
author whitney d. grandison @whitney_DG
@UweStenderPhD What do you do when your client writes something you don’t represent?That is fairly unlikely as I represent almost everything. But if I don't, then I will check with another #Teamtriada agent to see if they do. IF they don't, then I would tell the client to query THAT book (or potentially THAT genre) to another agency.
jennifer laughran @literaticat · 2d
I got really fired up about this #AskAgent question. Like, I want to reach through time and space and beat somebody up. I'M STILL MAD. "An editor said being young and attractive helps people get book deals. REALLY?!" 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
literaticat.tumblr.com/post/190894824…
Jessica Faust @BookEndsJessica · Feb 13
What Happens After You Sign with an Agent #askagent bookendsliterary.com/2020/02/13/wha…
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · Feb 11
Shalana Battles @shalanabattles
@UweStenderPhD Hello. :)My novel is about a soul, and discusses the afterlife but is not religious. There's also romance. Would I pitch as paranormal romance? I wasn't sure between that, fantasy, or speculative. Thank you for your time!
My guess is paranormal romance, but don't bet your life on it.
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · Feb 11
Thereza Dos Santos @TherezaDSWrites
@UweStenderPhD Hiya!Would you categorize a contemporary YA novel with elements of magic as speculative? The spec novels I’ve seen seem to be pretty fantastical?..Thanks!✨
P.S. speculative sounds good!
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · Feb 11
RJE @rje0807
@UweStenderPhD Thank you for your support! If “first 10 pages” of a manuscript are requested in the query process to be pasted into an email, is that asking for 10 double-spaced Word Doc pages? Also, should a chapter always start on a new page to make for an easier read if a full is requested?Hard to answer since I never want to see the first pages in a query. My best GUESS is, yes 10 double spaced MSWORD Times New Roman pages. I think a chapter should start on a new page, but that is a formatting, not a content question, and thus is fixable.
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · Feb 11
JRPyle-Carter @JrpyleC
@UweStenderPhD @Maria_Tureaud If the agent doesn't specify, should one assume that the page count of requested material means page count double spaced?Word count matters. Page count is meaningless to me.
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · Feb 11
Laura Kat Young @laurakatyoung
@UweStenderPhD What genre or storyline would you love to see?YA rom com. YA, as well as adult, thrillers. Rihanna's memoir.
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · Feb 11
Randi Lynn Mrvos @RandiLynnMrvos
@UweStenderPhD I've written a picture book that relies on the playful use of words within the text (for example, the word big is in all caps and in a larger font). Also, the story is written in rhyming stanzas. Would this kind of formatting annoy agents?Ha, I don't know if it would annoy others. Would it annoy me?!? It depends on the execution. But since I only rep picture books by current clients, I have no personal horse in the race.
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · Feb 11
Alex Emerson @PenningEmerson
@UweStenderPhD Greetings and congrats on your successes! How important is it, in your opinion, for perspective clients to have previous publication creds? Further, does it matter if the creds are in a different genre or format, say selling a short horror story but pitching a kid's chapter book?Thank you. I personally could not care less one way or the other.
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · Feb 11
Susan James Pierce is on deadline🌹 @sjpierce_author
@UweStenderPhD Hi there! Congrats on the success and thanks for doing this! If a work of YA fiction is a Me Too story, is that something worth mentioning in the query? It's not the main focus of the book.Thank you. That is your decision. I can't think of overwhelming pros or cons, but that's just me. So, it happened to you, feel free to mention it IF you are comfortable with that, but if not, don't. It's nobody's business if you don't want to share that info.
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · Feb 11
Catherine Eli @TheCatherineEli
@UweStenderPhD @shellyjarvis Going along with that, what would you say the likelihood is of an agent signing a debut author if their first book is meant as a series? I’ve heard this isn’t likely . . .I don't know where you heard that from, but "novel with series potential" will sell.
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · Feb 11
Sierra Pung @sierrapung
@UweStenderPhD Hi Uwe! Thanks for doing this! How long do you think it will be before agents are done with Pitch Wars requests and go back to normal queries? I know it’s going to vary, but your guess is better than mine :)Ha, I don't know since I don't participate in Pitch Wars. I used to, but it never had any impact on my openness to queries.
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · Feb 11
Susan Gray Foster @susangrayfoster
@UweStenderPhD I hope this isn’t an annoying question.What do you love to see in opening pages of a manuscript?
Questions can only be annoying if they are not genuine So, yours is not at all annoying. I like to find a connection to the narrative voice, and something that drives the plot. Not endless descriptions or pretentious introspection .
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · Feb 11
Loretta Chefchaouni is drafting Graveyard WIP! @Writerly_me
@UweStenderPhD Hi! If I query agents who passed on my last manuscript after requesting the full with a new MS, should I mention the previous request at all? They did not specifically invite me to query them with new projects, so is it still worth bringing up? Thanks! #askagentNo reason to mention it. Each project stands on its own, at least for me.
Dr. Uwe Stender @UweStenderPhD · Feb 11
Carol Sadan @carolchristie_
@UweStenderPhD Congratulations on your recent success. I'm UK based and about to start querying US agents. I'll follow individual agents submission formats, but are there any key differences in the US market that you'd advise I watch out for? Thanks.Thank you. I'd say, just query following respective guidelines. They'll either request or won't.